CNN’s Soledad O’Brien Speaks on Profiling Top Amateur Marlen Esparza

Left: CNN's Soledad O'Brien followed Olympic hopeful Marlen Esparza (pictured) for months

before the flyweight went for her sixth straight national title. (Rose Arce/CNN)
Below: O'Brien receives a technical tip from Esparza's rival, Cristina Cruz. (Rose Arce/CNN)

By Ryan Maquiñana

BoxingScene.com

This Sunday, CNN’s Soledad O’Brien shines the mainstream spotlight on boxing when she profiles Olympic hopeful Marlen Esparza in the latest installment of her recurring series Latino in America entitled In Her Corner.

Given the network’s relationship with HBO as members of the Time Warner stable, one would expect an increase in the sport’s visibility in their programming, but not that of the amateur women’s variety.

Credit O’Brien, who has become enamored with Esparza’s story enough to place it front and center as the subject of her latest foray into the ever-evolving identity of the Latino demographic in this country.

“The way I came across Marlen’s story was reading an airline magazine about Olympic boxing being offered to women for the first time in 2012,” the award-winning anchor tells BoxingScene. “I was stunned that all these Latinas were Olympic hopefuls, and as we started researching it, two names kept coming up—Marlen Esparza and Cristina Cruz.”

READ MORE: http://www.boxingscene.com/cnns-obrien-speaks-on-profiling-top-amateur-esparza--44045